In 1879, Procter and Gamble's best seller was candles. But the company was in
trouble. Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb, and the market for candles
plummeted since they were now sold only for special occasions.
The outlook appeared to be bleak for Procter and Gamble. A forgetful employee at
a small factory in Cincinnati forgot to turn off his machine when he went to
lunch. When he returned he found a frothing mass of lather filled with air
bubbles. He almost threw the stuff away but instead decided to try to make it
into soap. The soap floated!
Some people bathed in the Ohio River. Floating soap would never sink and
consequently never got lost. Thus, Ivory soap was born and became the mainstay
of the Procter and Gamble Company.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
WIT & WISDOM - November 30, 1998
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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